Hospital patients facing blood clot danger: study

By Patricia Reaney

LONDON (Reuters) – Hospital patients are in danger of
developing blood clots in the legs and lungs because medical
staff are not following guidelines to prevent the dangerous
condition, researchers said on Tuesday.

A 24-month survey at two British hospitals of 1,062 medical
in-patients showed 89 percent had a moderate to high risk of
suffering from the potentially fatal blood clots but 71 percent
did not receive any treatment to prevent them.

“It is a widespread issue,” said Dr Abdul Shlebak, of St
Mary’s Hospital and Imperial College London.

“This is a global problem. It is not only confined to UK or
European hospitals,” he added in an interview. “It is time
medical societies, governments and people involved did
something about it.”

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) includes deep vein thrombosis
(DVT), or blood clots in the legs, and pulmonary embolism,
which most commonly occurs when the blood clot dislodges to the
lungs.

Patients having surgery and those receiving medical
treatment for illnesses and fractures may be at high risk of
developing blood clots if they have poor circulation or are
immobile for long periods of time.

Shlebak and his team said guidelines were followed in
surgical wards but were not adhered to as strongly for people
admitted to hospital who did not need surgery.

An estimated 10 percent of deaths of medical patients,
those not having surgery, in hospital are likely to be directly
related to venous thromboembolism, according to Shlebak.

But the condition can be prevented by using blood-thinning
drugs or special stockings to improve blood flow.

Shlebak, who reported the findings in the Journal of the
Royal Society of Medicine, said patients may not be getting
preventive treatment for a variety of reasons including fear of
complications such as bleeding and the cost of the drugs. Staff
may also be unaware of how important it is for some patients.

Nearly 30 percent of people in the survey had some form of
preventive treatment but it was implemented correctly in only 4
percent of the moderate to high-risk patients.

The researchers called for better education for hospital
staff to increase awareness about the danger of blood clots.
They also said patients should have a DVT prevention sheet
attached to their drug charts and hospitals should have
dedicated teams to ensure preventive measures are being used.

“Clinicians and policymakers need to act on these findings
if we are to reduce the incidence of VTE and prevent fatalities
in hospitals,” Shlebak added.